Flickr is an image and video sharing website used by many millions of web users around the world. In fact the site has over 50 million registered users, who have uploaded 6 billion images, this speaks volumes about the popularity of the site. So why is it such a popular tool used by so many across the globe? Well to begin with the site is completely free and very simple to use. Navigating and browsing the site seems almost second nature to new users. It’s site seems very straightforward, the interface the site uses is quick and easy to negotiate, and that makes the tagging and organizing of photos very easy. For casual users the site is a fantastic tool for sharing images and videos to friends and family, but for people in a professional capacity, such as journalists, the site can be a great asset. It can mean journalists are able to upload content in a matter of seconds and distribute to their audience a link which they are then able to access. Therefore visual information can be spread and shared very quickly.

The site does however have a few shortcomings however. For instance content can be stolen, so there perhaps could be a suggestion that Flickr could do with improved privacy settings. If images and videos are able to be seen by anybody with access to the internet, then this cannot be a good thing for users who wish to distribute content to only a minority of people. Having cast my eye again over the site however it seems as though users are able to choose privacy settings at their own discretion.

In terms of storage space and uploading, there seems to be only a limited amount for users who register for a free account. In order to get unlimited photo and video uploads you have to upgrade your account to a “Pro” account, meaning you pay an extra $25 (£16) a year. In my opinion this represents good value for money, especially if you’re a keen user, as the monthly restrictions for free users may not seem substantial.

To summarise though, Flickr can be a great website for media sharing, no matter what you use it for, it’s easy to use and very efficient.